Other Brotherhood Chapters
East-Coast Brotherhood of Steel ''"Pledge in your hearts and minds, pledge by your guns that you will stand with them in battle until the end, trust each of them with your life."'' ''- The words of Owyn Lyons, the man who's ideology reshaped the Brotherhood of Steel'' The East Coast chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel was founded by Elder Owyn Lyons. Their headquarters is the Citadel, an imposing fortress built beneath the ruins of the Pentagon on the edge of what used to be Washington, D.C. As of 2287, they are led by Arthur Maxson, the last descendant of the venerated Maxson family line. Under his leadership, the Brotherhood the made an incursion into the Commonwealth only to be repelled by mortar fire from the recently reestablished Minutemen faction. Background Following the destruction of the Enclave on the West Coast, the Brotherhood dispatched an expedition to Washington, D.C. on a mission to reconnect with the Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel, investigate reports of super mutants in the Capital Wasteland, and recover any advanced technology. Led by Paladin Owyn Lyons, the group included Henry Casdin, Ishmael Ashur, Reginald Rothchild and Lyons' 3-year-old daughter, Sarah. Contact with the Midwest chapter was unsuccessful, so the group traveled to Pittsburgh. The city was being terrorized by wildmen, trogs, slavers and raiders. Lyons' force swept through the city, destroying many hostiles and suffering only one casualty: Ishmael Ashur. Believing him to be dead, the Brotherhood gathered the surviving children into their ranks and continued toward Washington, D.C. On their arrival, the wilderness outside the city was overrun by super mutants. Attacking head-on, they drove the mutants into the ruins of Washington, D.C. and earned the favour of the local population. Their investigation of the Pentagon uncovered a remarkable cache of technology, including the four-story-tall robot known as Liberty Prime. The discovery earned Owyn Lyons a promotion to elder and a change in his orders: instead of returning to the West Coast, they would establish a permanent presence in the area. They founded their base, the Citadel, in the remnants of the old Pentagon. The Brotherhood's treatment of people in Pittsburgh and in Washington marked a characteristic trait of Elder Lyons' leadership. The Brotherhood's primary directive was to recover and preserve advanced technology, however Elder Lyon's detachment took on a more humanitarian approach towards non-hostile wastelanders. When the Elders in Lost Hills learned of these new priorities, they cut off all support to the chapter, though they still considered it as part of the Brotherhood. The chapter suffered a further setback when a number from within their ranks left in protest to form the Brotherhood Outcasts. It was in this weakened and isolated state that it was possible for the Enclave, having relocated from New California as well, to re-establish a base of continual operations at Raven Rock, to make its move. They seized Project Purity, then set up outposts in Washington, D.C. and the surrounding wilderness. However, with the assistance of the Lone Wanderer, the Brotherhood ended the Enclave's presence in the known region; driving them first from Project Purity and then from their final holdout at Adams Air Force Base. The fate of the Enclave as a whole after these events remains a mystery. Despite the Brotherhood's success with Project Purity and the war against the Enclave, the organization continued to struggle. Lyons would eventually pass away in 2278, with leadership passing to his daughter Sarah Lyons. Not long after she was named elder she was killed in combat with no clear successor in line. In the leadership crisis that followed, the Brotherhood repeatedly appointed and deposed one ineffectual leader after another until Arthur Maxson assumed leadership. In 2283, Arthur Maxson was appointed elder at age 16, the youngest in Brotherhood history, after displaying exceptional skill as a capable warrior and diplomat by defeating the super mutant leader Shepherd and brokering peace with the Brotherhood Outcasts, bringing them back into the fold. By 2287, the East Coast Brotherhood had established contact with Lost Hills and has actively received support from the West. During this time, they began to make plans to establish control not only over the Capital Wasteland, but the entire Eastern Seaboard. To complete this objective, they began constructing a massive airship called the Prydwen, using parts from the Enclave mobile crawler at Adams Air Force Base. The development and construction process took a total of six years, two years to design the Prydwen and twice that to build. During this time, the Brotherhood sent three scout missions into the Commonwealth: first, a group volunteered to go into the Commonwealth, then Recon Squad Artemis led by Paladin Brandis and Recon Squad Gladius led by Paladin Danse. The first scout team was overwhelmingly successful. They brought back crates full of pre-War technology and documents and the first post-war reconnaissance of the area. Artemis was not so fortunate with their problems beginning at their drop-off point in Malden. Ambushed by Gunners straight off the Vertibird, which resulted in abandoning and manually shorting out their power armour (to prevent the suits from being captured) and the deaths of four knights. The survivors made their way to the National Guard training yard to regroup, which was infested with feral ghouls and resulted in the death of another knight. Brandis and his scribe left to investigate the pre-War Revere satellite array, but it was infested with super mutants that overcame them and claimed the second last member of the team. The only survivor was the commanding officer, Paladin Brandis, who made his way to a pre-War nuclear bunker, and took shelter there until either the Brotherhood or someone else found him. Recent History Three years later, Recon Squad Gladius entered the region also looking for technology and valuable documents. They encountered similar resistance from raiders as Artemis did and over the course of several weeks managed to secure a base of operations at the Cambridge Police Station but lost four knights in various confrontations. After discovering advanced signals originating from the Institute, Danse sent an emergency signal to the Brotherhood, which, after several technical delays, responded by sending the Prydwen to the Commonwealth, dominating the skyline while under full Vertibird escort for the people of the Commonwealth to see. Unfortunately for the Brotherhood of Steel, when they arrived in the Commonwealth and made their declaration, this was seen as a threat to the recently rallied Minutemen militia, which responded with a liberal application of mortar fire, dealing severe damage, causing several casualties and forcing the overconfident Elder Maxson to order a retreat back to the Capital Wasteland, only doing so after losing several priceless Vertibirds and their pilots, losses that they could no longer afford. In the absence of Maxson and the forces he'd brought with him to the Commonwealth, he'd unknowingly left behind a large contingent of personnel behind that'd become disillusioned with their Elder for abandoning Lyons ideology, however the decision to abandon Maxson came from a respected member of Lyons Pride, Paladin Tristan, who claimed that it was the aforementioned Elder that'd murdered Sarah Lyons while engaged in combat with Super Mutants. Whether there's any weight to this claim remains unclear, though Tristan's teammates have come forward to support his claim. Expectedly, without clear leadership the Citadel erupted into temporary madness, which after a fail attempt by Head Scribe Rothchild, was calmed by the decisive action of Star Paladin Cross, who was shortly after named the new Elder of the Chapter. When Maxson returned to the Citadel after their defeat in the Commonwealth, he was given one chance to turn himself in for a fair trail, which he refused and instead attempted to open fire on the garrisoned force. Talked down by Lancer Captain Kells, he ordered a further retreat, the Prydwen disappearing into the distance despite its current condition. Having long since lost contact with the Midwestern, Montana and Mojave Chapters, and needing to reinforce their finite amount of resources and supplies, Elder Cross saw fit to order the establishment of a new Chapter, using archived survey data from an expedition years ago... Rank Structure Mojave Brotherhood of Steel "''And so the lock-down has been extended. To go outside would be the death of us all."'' ''-McNamara, giving into the dread and fear he once stood against'' The '''Mojave chapter''' is a chapter of the original Brotherhood of Steel active in the Mojave Wasteland. Background The Brotherhood of Steel is a paramilitary organisation, devoted to the recovery and preservation of pre-War technology and information. Officially, the Brotherhood seeks to salvage such knowledge so that it may be used for the benefit of mankind, but in practice, they are oddly selective as to what is important enough to be saved, often ignoring basic but potentially useful technologies (such as agriculture and civil engineering,) in favour of military hardware like energy weapons and power armour. They are notoriously secretive with their discoveries and distrustful of outsiders, even outright hostile in some cases. Even now, more than two centuries after the Great War, the Brotherhood zealously restricts the use and knowledge of their technological finds, even within their own ranks. Based out of the fortified bunker of Hidden Valley, the Mojave Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel operated openly in the Vegas wastes for several years, carrying out several reclamation missions without encountering any serious opposition. Father Elijah, the reigning Elder at the time, eventually took a particularly strong interest in the dilapidated HELIOS One, a Pre-War solar power plant. Despite the objections of the chapter's Paladins, who contested that the plant was too big a target for their relatively small forces to properly defend, Elijah decided that the vast promise of HELIOS One far outweighed the risks. Over the next several months, the Brotherhood commenced repairs on the power plant, hoping to restore it to working order. However, Father Elijah had his own hidden agenda for the plant: in his studies, the Elder had discovered that HELIOS One was secretly connected to ARCHIMEDES II, a still-functioning orbital weapons platform. Such devastating firepower was too tempting an opportunity to ignore. After years of unchallenged dominance, the balance of power in the Mojave Wasteland shifted in 2253, when New California Republic forces entered the region and occupied Hoover Dam. Unnerved by the arrival of such a potential threat, Father Elijah declared that HELIOS One would now serve as the Mojave Brotherhood's home base. With little other choice, the chapter subsequently uprooted itself from Hidden Valley and moved into the plant. By the year 2275, the New California Republic had established a firm presence in the Mojave Wasteland, having signed the New Vegas Treaty with the enigmatic Mr. House the year before and subsequently cementing a regional stronghold at McCarran International Airport. It was thus inevitable, then, that the NCR would soon set its sights upon HELIOS One. Elijah, still believing that he could unlock the facility's hidden capabilities, refused to abandon the power plant and forced his Paladins to continue defending it. Although the chapter had refrained from participating in the NCR-Brotherhood War like their brethren back in New California, hostilities quickly flared between the Mojave Brotherhood and the resident NCR forces; attempts at communication and hope for possible cooperation proving futile, ultimately breaking down into violence. What followed over the following year was a series of guerrilla skirmishes, that culminated in 2276 with Operation: Sunburst, a full-on assault on HELIOS One by the NCR. Despite their technological advantage, the Brotherhood forces were gradually chipped away by the relentless NCR reinforcements. The Paladins continually urged Elijah to signal a retreat before their losses became too great, but the Elder dismissed their pleas, too obsessed with his work on HELIOS One and unlocking its secrets. It was at the height of the conflict that Father Elijah abruptly vanished, leaving his chapter without any sort of explanation. Seemingly abandoned by their leader, the remaining Brotherhood forces were led by Head Paladin McNamara, who took on the title of Elder for the chapter. McNamara launched a desperate counterattack against the advancing NCR forces, buying himself and his people enough time to escape the facility and retreat back to the safety of the Hidden Valley complex. Sunburst was nothing less than disastrous for the Mojave Brotherhood, with more than half of the chapter's Knights and Paladins having fallen in combat. HELIOS One, the facility they fought so hard to defend, was left in shambles due to collateral damage. In the wake of such a catastrophic loss, now-Elder McNamara enacted, against the wishes of most of the chapter, an absolute lock-down on the Hidden Valley complex; no members were allowed out of the bunker and those who were already outside at the start of the lock-down were not allowed back in. In the years since the chapter's defeat and subsequent lock-down, Elder McNamara has restricted activity outside the bunker to occasional reconnaissance missions and high-value raids. All operations take place at night, with engagement of NCR forces strictly forbidden. Though the Brotherhood's ascetic lifestyle has prepared its members for a sequestered existence better than most, the passivity of their current situation has proved highly stressful. Recent History Following the NCR's victory over Hoover Dam and more recently, seizing New Vegas from Mr House, officially making New Vegas and its surrounding territories property of the New California Republic, it was only a matter of time before the military began hunting down and either running off or outright wiping out factions such as the Boomers and Great Khans, McNamara saw an opportunity to spare his people from exile or being hunted down. Taking a contingent of Paladins with him for protection, he approached a represent of the NCR and requested that they serve their military in exchange for immunity and eventually citizen, indenturing themselves to secure their future. Of course this proposition was accepted, even if far from ideal for his own people, he saw this as a chance to continue living and carry on the ways of the Brotherhood, potentially even ingrain it within the NCR military. Though a fair number of personnel deserted lead by Head Paladin Hardin, unwilling to accept the rule of the faction they'd been at war with, the rest remained eventually become what would be called the 1st Steel Legion of the NCR. Rank Structure Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel ''"There is always another enemy."'' ''- Words that guided a more militarised yet somehow more open-minded Chapter...'' The '''Brotherhood of Steel''' in the Midwest is a splinter faction of the original Brotherhood of Steel. Unlike other Chapters of the Brotherhood of Steel, the Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel utilises its own more linear rank structure, with Scribe being classed as a civilian occupation, due to this streamlined system, they likely possess the closest system to that of the Pre-War American Army. They differ from the rest of the Brotherhood in that they are willing to accept non-humans into their ranks. During the war with the Calculator, the Midwestern Brotherhood's forces consisted of survivors from the expedition, human recruits from tribes and towns, ghouls, sapient (hairy) deathclaws, some super mutants (many recruits came from defeated enemy forces), and machine legions from Vault 0. Background After the defeat of the Master, the original Brotherhood found themselves at odds with their need for new blood versus their code of technological secrecy. The debate went lightly. Finally, the elders ruled against sharing the technology with outsiders, convinced that they would endure what they had before. Further discussion was discouraged when the elders ordered the minority who wished to share their technology on a mission across the wastes. The Brotherhood constructed airships and dispatched the minority East, to track down and assess the extent of the remaining super mutant threat. However, as they traveled over the great mountains, a great storm broke the main airship and flung it far from its course. The mighty airship was badly damaged, the smaller sections torn from the main craft, never to be seen again. Many of the expedition leaders, including Paladin Latham, were lost to the winds. The fraction of the crew that still survived struggled to keep their ship aloft before finally crashing on the outskirts of the ruins of Chicago. Survivors eventually formed a new organisation, which diverged greatly from the ideals of the old Brotherhood. In time, they established a harsh rule over the towns and villages in that area. After long fights with countless raider bands, a warlike technological cult known as the Reavers, and a super mutant army led by mad Paladin Latham, in 2198, the Brotherhood eventually faced their greatest enemy – a robotic army commanded by the Calculator, the mad cyborg of Vault 0 in Colorado. Eventually, the robotic army was defeated and the Calculator was destroyed for the good of the Wasteland. Since then, the Brotherhood has dedicated its personnel and resources to protecting the region, becoming a governing body and holding authority over the local settlements, providing protection in exchange for recruits. Recent History Due to the large and diverse number of personnel within the Brotherhood and the lack of a unifying threat, and General Dekkers inability to inspire the troops as his predecessors have, all out civil war broke out between the various sub-factions sprouting within the military, the settlements once under their protection being caught in the fire. Though several groups maintain their original purpose in the area, just independently with their own methods and secondary objectives, others have descended into mercenary companies or outright raiders, using their advanced technology and tactics to terrorise, enslave or extort unprotected settlements. Though originally intent on bringing an end to the Civil War, General Dekker and the rest of Bunker Alpha have since fallen silent, with no radio or personnel contact, nor has anyone reportedly entered or exited their base of operations. Rank Structure East-Coast Brotherhood of Steel Deserters ''"Ad Victoriam."'' -''Even after being forced to desert, Maxson held onto the words that had inspired so much'' Established when Maxson and his men returned to the Capital Wasteland following an unsuccessful excursion to the Commonwealth, only to find that those previously under his command had sworn loyalty to someone he saw as a pretender, he intends to use his loyalists to regain control of the East-Coast Brotherhood and crush all that stood against him. Recent History Formed after Maxson was turned away from the Citadel by his replacement, Elder Cross, he and his force, composed of loyalists and former Brotherhood Outcasts, originally intended to wage war against the garrisoned force with the intention of reclaiming the Citadel and punishing those that would go against his command and mutiny against him, which despite the impressive power of the damaged Prydwen, would've eventually fallen to the armaments stored within their former base of operations. Knowing the outcome would more than likely spell certain death, then Lancer Captain Kells attempted to talk the Elder down, succeeding in convincing them to order a retreat so that they may regroup with the forces still loyal with them, establish a new HQ, as the Pryden could only remain airborne for so long, and then plan their next course of action against their betrayers. Though infuriated by Kells' recommendation to stand down, he'd come to see the futility that they'd only nearly avoided, awarding him with the rank of Sentinel, officially making him his Second-In-Command. As of right now, their location, numbers and operations remain completely unknown, though efforts are being made to apprehend or eliminate Maxson and his loyalists for what they believe to be gross negligence for his failures in the Commonwealth and the supposed murder of Sarah Lyons, his former mentor and the Elder he'd come to replace. Rank Structure =